It would sound strange to translate that literally into Hebrew. Some examples of "how are you" kind of phrases with a literal translation in brackets: ma hamatsav (what's the situation) ma koreh (what's happening) ma nishma (what is heard) ma shlomcha/shlomech (what is your health/well-being) They might seem strange in English, but they are all very common. The last one is the most formal. The first three are casual between friends.